A popular papare band from the Sri Lankan city of Colombo is set to get the crowds on their feet at the T20 World Cup semi-finals and final in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Cricket lovers from Sri Lanka, Pakistan and India paid for plane tickets, meals and accommodation to ensure the four-member band arrived in time for the first semi-final between England and New Zealand in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
The musicians, who play the trumpet, trombone and drums, promise to add to the atmosphere at matches and get spectators dancing in the stadiums.
“It’s a tradition for the papare bands to play at cricket matches and weddings, and we wanted to bring music that is unique to Sri Lanka to the UAE,” said George Hettiaratchy, a Dubai resident who helped with the arrangements.
It’s a tradition for papare bands to play at cricket matches and weddings, and we wanted to bring music that is unique to Sri Lanka to the UAE
George Hettiaratchy,
Dubai resident
“The band will create a lively mood for both teams. We will cheer for cricket and we support a good game. It does not matter that the Sri Lanka team did not make it.”
Hundreds of Sri Lankan and Indian fans will watch the games even though their teams have already been eliminated from the tournament.
It took a joint effort from people of different nationalities to ensure the Mendis Papare Band arrived in the Emirates.
Sri Lankan restaurant Thambapanni will provide the band members with meals, while Pakistani residents covered the cost of flights, visas and accommodation at a two-bedroom apartment in Sharjah.
The Abu Dhabi Cricket Council arranged complimentary tickets for Wednesday’s game and an Indian cricket fan paid for the tickets to the final on Sunday.
“Kind-hearted cricket lovers have covered expenses because the band needed sponsorship. We are not rich and could not afford hotels,” Mr Hettiaratchy said.
“All nationalities came together and helped when we started applying for visas and tickets.”
The group is still short of Dh4,840 ($1,318) to cover the band's fees for the games and the cost of tickets for Thursday’s semi-final between Australia and the undefeated Pakistan team.
Papare music is central to Sri Lankan cricket. Fans say they have grown up with the music and drums and cymbals can often be heard during matches at all levels in the country.
Hundreds of cricket lovers were disappointed when they were not permitted to take musical instruments to Sri Lanka's first game in Sharjah last month.
The ICC later lifted the restrictions at all venues, saying they "understand the need to build up the atmosphere".
It has been an uplifting journey for the musicians who follow the Sri Lankan team around the world.
Sanath Mendis, the band’s founder, usually has 20 musicians in demand for sporting events and weddings.
But the Covid-19 pandemic and restrictions on gatherings have cut their earnings and the group has been out of work for months.
“We have been struggling, there has been nothing, no work for us for a long time,” said Mr Mendis, who plays the trumpet.
“We will take good memories from here and we are hoping things will improve. We are thrilled at the chance to come to Dubai.
“We are happy for this opportunity, it’s really amazing and we will do our maximum to see that everyone enjoys the match.”
Mr Hettiaratchy said organising the band's trip was one of his final acts in the UAE before he retires early next year.
“I will be leaving Dubai in February after working here for 37 years and wanted to give something back that people would remember,” he said.
“We thought with the UAE celebrating its 50th national day we should bring the band during the World Cup to bring all nationalities together.”
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: ten-speed
Power: 420bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: Dh325,125
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Day 2, Dubai Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Pakistan’s effort in the field had hints of shambles about it. The wheels were officially off when Wahab Riaz lost his run up and aborted the delivery four times in a row. He re-measured his run, jogged in for two practice goes. Then, when he was finally ready to go, he bailed out again. It was a total cringefest.
Stat of the day – 139.5 Yasir Shah has bowled 139.5 overs in three innings so far in this Test series. Judged by his returns, the workload has not withered him. He has 14 wickets so far, and became history’s first spinner to take five-wickets in an innings in five consecutive Tests. Not bad for someone whose fitness was in question before the series.
The verdict Stranger things have happened, but it is going to take something extraordinary for Pakistan to keep their undefeated record in Test series in the UAE in tact from this position. At least Shan Masood and Sami Aslam have made a positive start to the salvage effort.
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Dr Graham's three goals
Short term
Establish logistics and systems needed to globally deploy vaccines
Intermediate term
Build biomedical workforces in low- and middle-income nations
Long term
A prototype pathogen approach for pandemic preparedness
Day 1 results:
Open Men (bonus points in brackets)
New Zealand 125 (1) beat UAE 111 (3)
India 111 (4) beat Singapore 75 (0)
South Africa 66 (2) beat Sri Lanka 57 (2)
Australia 126 (4) beat Malaysia -16 (0)
Open Women
New Zealand 64 (2) beat South Africa 57 (2)
England 69 (3) beat UAE 63 (1)
Australia 124 (4) beat UAE 23 (0)
New Zealand 74 (2) beat England 55 (2)
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 6 (McTominay 2', 3'; Fernandes 20', 70' pen; Lindelof 37'; James 65')
Leeds United 2 (Cooper 41'; Dallas 73')
Man of the match: Scott McTominay (Manchester United)
The finalists
Player of the Century, 2001-2020: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Ronaldinho
Coach of the Century, 2001-2020: Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), Jose Mourinho (Tottenham Hotspur), Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid), Sir Alex Ferguson
Club of the Century, 2001-2020: Al Ahly (Egypt), Bayern Munich (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), Real Madrid (Spain)
Player of the Year: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Club of the Year: Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Real Madrid
Coach of the Year: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta), Hans-Dieter Flick (Bayern Munich), Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Agent of the Century, 2001-2020: Giovanni Branchini, Jorge Mendes, Mino Raiola
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